Aretha Franklin dies at 76, dance music community reacts

Renowned worldwide as the undisputed “Queen of Soul,” musical icon Aretha Franklin has passed away in her Detroit home at the age of 76 years. She had been battling pancreatic cancer, Franklin’s longtime publicist Gwendolyn Quinn confirmed in a statement on Thursday, August 16. Her musical legacy will live on.

“In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds,” the statement reads. “We have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world. Thank you for your compassion and prayers.

Franklin’s breadth and depth in music goes far beyond the soul, R&B, hip-hop, and popular music genres and is already being felt as ripples in the dance music world. Everyone from David Guetta and Clean Bandit to DIM MAK and Ministry of Sound has some memory of Franklin’s music touching their sounds and their hearts. Read on to see what artists and industry professionals in the dance music community are saying about the iconic musician over their personal social media accounts.

"Just to know I uplifted another person – I wouldn't be doing anything else. In terms of helping people understand and know each other a little better, music is universal – universal and transporting."RIP to the queen of soul – you will never be forgotten #ArethaFranklinpic.twitter.com/zUNuWYkIB2

there will never be another #QueenofSoul. known not just for her unbelievable voice, #Aretha was an unparalleled activist, using her celebrity to draw attention to many causes in the Black community & beyond. pic.twitter.com/5Ru5XI5L7g

A post shared by David Guetta (@davidguetta) on Aug 16, 2018 at 8:17am PDT

This was when I first heard Aretha Franklin and as 10 year old it blew my little socks off. From then on I didn’t want to play clarinet any more I wanted to play sax in a soul band and it changed my life forever.https://t.co/qen7DX0yOp